


Every little thing has a rhythm

by Vriskaserbet



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:49:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26515483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vriskaserbet/pseuds/Vriskaserbet
Summary: In a far-off future where fully realized AI Pokemon have been embraced by society, a virtual reality Pokemon trainer/inspiring EDM producer seeks help with his latest track with his music loving Croagunk.





	Every little thing has a rhythm

The sun was setting particularly slowly that day. The last rays of sunlight seemed to be particularly stubborn, the vibrant shades of orange still remaining strong on the horizon. The night sky, ever approaching, slowly darkened the sky a deep purple, filling in every empty space it could. For a long moment, the colors swirled and mixed, almost fighting for dominance. There were a few clouds in the sky, each one absorbing the unique hue in a different way, though his favorite were the ones that picked up the lightest shades of both— the fluffy lilac and light orange clouds brought a smile to his face, despite it all.

Nevertheless, the sun finally dipped completely downwards, leaving the city in complete night. And as always, the multi-colored light of the holo-ads that clustered all above and around the city flicked quickly off for a half a second in planned groups; then the ads came back just as fast, the city quickly engulfed in shades of blue. With the faint glow of blue upon his skin, Kellan finally felt as it was night. 

And with that, he let out a long sigh. He rested his head onto his hands, still holding onto the neon bar that gated his balcony. He tuned out the usual noise of his surroundings— the passing by shuttle buses, drifting holo-ads playing their product on loop, the beeping of cleaning robots moving from task to task— and focused on an internal noise instead.

The cursed beat of his next song came to him easily, still unfinished and lacking any real substance. For a few moments, he attempted to focus on it. His foot tapped alongside the rhythm in his head, all sorts of half-formed ideas warily coming near it. Soon as they did, it turned into a jumbled, tangled up mess he could barely pick apart. He groaned, shaking his head as though to wipe the slate clean. 

“DJ Checkerboard,” better known as Kellan by his friends and his neighbors, forced himself upwards and back into his apartment. It wasn’t anything especially fancy, almost old-school with it’s material and design. The complex was somewhat in the outskirts of the city, definitely not close to the proper heart of the city— where all the major DJs lived and performed. 

Kellan rummaged through his fridge, barely filled with leftover takeout and a few drinks. He grabbed one, his favorite cherry soda, quick to take the cap off and take a long swig. The cool, bubbly flavor was always nice down his throat, bringing a bit of his energy back up. Kellan left his kitchen, entering the interconnected living room. He was careful to mind his drink as he pulled out the VR equipment he kept safe in a bin underneath the old shelf his transmission projector was on. 

He brought it all back to his small room, mainly filled up with his numerous computer screens on his desk and the small mattress he bought a number of years back. With ease, he quickly had everything set up. A quick connection test showed everything working, thus with a last swig of his soda, Kellan placed the headset on and began the program.

* * *

His virtual body loaded in a cloud of code, forming right into his usual avatar as his feet were placed right on the ground. His virtual lobby was always consistent. The sky was a bright pink, the ground thumped with a beat and everything was decorated to put him right in the heart of the city. He looked around for a moment, trying to see any sign of his boy— who’d usually be nearby or running after him by now.

“Croagunk? Grunky?” he called out. Kellan took a few steps forward, planning to explore the immediate area, only for his body to tense up and flinch at a painful sensation— his body stiffly falling to the floor. While a groan of pain escaped him, he didn’t panic; as just as he expected, his Croagunk hopped right onto his chest, a gleeful, bubbly cry emitting from him.

“Y-You really g-got me… this time, you little sneak.” Croagunk’s cheeks filled up again to admit another cry, one that he could definitely tell was just him laughing at him. The digital poison was quick to fade out, letting his limbs move again. Kellan sat up, the Croagunk adjusting to stand in his lap. He brought his arms around Croagunk, bringing him back to his chest for a tight hug.

“You’re lucky I love you so much, you know that?”

“Croagunk!” Croagunk said simply, wrapping his own arms around his trainer. Kellan sighed, enjoying the embrace for a moment before finally loosening his grip.

“Alright, little dude, I’m gonna try and make some sick beats in here. You wanna help?” 

“Croagunk!” With that, his Pokemon was quick to let go, climbing up his shoulder and promptly taking a seat upon his shoulders. Kellan smiled, standing up tall and keeping his hands on the webbed toes of Croagunk. 

They took off to the nightclub Kellan had personally designed for his lobby. The dance floors changed colors with the weight of one’s foot, the walls digitally enhanced to cycle through a number of patterns and colors. It had a glorious double staircase that went up to the second floor, where his large turntables and audio equipment rested. 

“Alright, get dressed! You gotta live up to my style.” Croagunk hopped off his shoulders, hurrying over to a nearby dressing booth. He came out as quick as he entered, wearing the usual outfit of a backwards hat and a large pink jacket that was baggy on his frame. Kellan kneeled down, adjusting the hat ever so slightly with a smile.

“Looking fresh, my little buddy.” he complimented.

“Croagunk!” 

He placed his headphones on, his foot beating with the previous rhythm. As basic as it was, he started up the beat on his soundboard, giving Croagunk a feel. The Pokemon nodded to himself, it’s own foot beating lightly. But his arms were crossed, it’s usual smiling expression changed into one of thought.

Kellan began editing it slightly, through his multitude of instruments. A synthetic drum to make the beat stronger, then changed to a snare drum to make the noise snappier. He brought his sampler into the mix, letting the pre-recorded song into the mix. Croagunk nodded, seemingly approving of his choices.

As he brought in different instruments, edited and altered the beat or the tempo and began adding more to the song— Croagunk would either shake his head or nod in approval. Kellan followed his word, knowing his Pokemon always had a natural flair for music. As he continued progressing, Croagunk showed more energy, his feet tapping the ground heavier, then began to dance with the song. 

At the end, Croagunk was jamming perfectly to the song, more excited warbles escaping from his mouth as the major bass drop was approaching. Kellan cheered and hollered as it hit hard, Croagunk absolutely jumping around in excitement. Kellan hopped himself to the beat, finally feeling something with the song. 

“You did it little buddy! This is gonna be the hit that’s gonna get me places!”

“Croagunk!” he hopped up the equipment, jumping right into his arms. Kellan laughed, easily taking his tackle hug as the two spun around the dance floor. 

He could see it now— clubs with his face on their main advertisements, people dancing to his music, everyone cheering his name… even a gig at club 212! And of course, his little buddy right by his side, his ultimate fan. 

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he admitted, a happy sigh escaping him. His Pokemon pulled away from the hug, bringing a hand to his mouth in thought.

“Croagunk.” He concluded, arms crossed at his chest.

“Yeah, I’d still be working at Mc-Chu’s. At least I’d be a manager, huh?”

“...Croagunk.” 

“What do you mean I wouldn’t!?” Kellan gasped.

“Croagunk!”

“My manager would be ten years younger than me?! Oh, don’t make me throw you out this window— AH! Keep your hand down, don’t jab me again!”

Croagunk let out a bubbled cry once more, bringing him back to a hug. Kellan sighed.

“You drive me crazy, little buddy.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from my boyfriend to make a Pokemon trainer OC set in a virtual reality future AU! He gave me the basic ideas of a EDM trainer, everything else was made by me! 
> 
> Thanks for reading this fic! Please leave a kudos/bookmark/comment if you liked it, it always inspires me to write! Check out my writing blog @vriskaserbet! Trying to get back into the groove of writing! ^^ Have a wonderful day/night!


End file.
